Killer's lawyer: Peter Falconio is still alive

The killer of a British backpacker has broken his silence to deny he is the murderer amid sensational claims Peter Falconio could still be alive.

Bradley Murdoch was found guilty of shooting Mr Falconio on the Stuart Highway in Australia's Northern Territory in July 2001.

Mr Falconio and his girlfriend Joanne Lees were travelling across Australia when they were attacked and his body has never been found. Now Murdoch has insisted he is innocent and his lawyer even claims he has proof Mr Falconio, who would now be 38, is alive.

Murdoch was also found guilty of kidnapping Ms Lees, who was rescued after she escaped and hid in the bush as the gunman was distracted. Making a number of outlandish claims in phone calls recorded for a TV programme, Murdoch, who was convicted after his DNA was found on Ms Lees's T-shirt, insisted he did not shoot Mr Falconio.

He said: "I might have knocked a few people around with me knuckles and that sort of thing, but, nah, I never had anything to do with it."

His lawyer, Andrew Fraser, claimed Mr Falconio is still alive - but admitted that he has not spoken to any of the four people he claims have come forward to say they had seen the Briton.